What do Ikea?

Earlier this week we went to Ikea. Once or twice a year I go, having vowed never to go again after each ocassion. Having driven up the A23 for an hour and twenty I parked in a nice spot. We went in and had a coffee. We walked round once slowly and once quickly and then stopped for lunch (no items selected at this point). Neither of us had meat balls. Then we made a bee line for the filing cabinet thingy we had decided on, queued to speak to a lady about the spec, she printed off our list and we made our way to the end of aisle 57 downstairs (via the congested market place). There was a gaggle of stressed customers hanging about at the "full service" desk, looking like they were at Bogota Airport waiting for news of friends and relatives from and lost plane. A notice advising that it would take 30 -45 minutes to get your stuff was scribbled on a white board. There were a number of tense interactions between the long suffering Ikea lady and customers. After an hour our boxes arrived and we headed off to the tills. Twenty minutes in that queue, we were ready to pay when I noticed that we did not have on our trolley what we had expected. By way of feeling I had achieved something, I bought it anyway. Remaining calm I drove cautiously out of the carpark, mounting the pavement only once.

Maria Full of Grace *****

This evening's award winning DVD followed the trials and tribulations of Maria, a seventeen year old pregnant Columbian girl who decides she needs to affect some changes in her life and allows herself to become a drug "mule". The film feels real, one of those which helps with your perspective. Taking a big risk can be very dangerous or it can open up a new world. Catalina Sandino Moreno who plays the main role is most lovely.

I'm not scared (by Niccolo Ammaniti)

This novel might have been written by Enid Blyton after she had endured a prolonged nasty experience. It is non the worse for this, very very easy to tune into, less easy to put down, I read it in two sittings. If you are looking for a several hour diversion, I would recommend it.

Healthy option

On Saturday I acquired some tasty looking crispbread thingies with seeds on them, (they looked to be to Ryvita as a king sized bed would be to a bumpy ground sheet) from an expensive healthfood shop. Indeed I had a couple for breakfast yesterday and felt quite smug about how much good they must be doing me.

So come dinner time I was enjoying another with a bit of omelette when I suddenly felt quite replete. This was due to the fact that I had tracked down the origins of the small maggot that was gyrating across the table cloth in front of my plate to the unseeded side of the remaining crispy slices where a number of his clones were continuing to gorge themselves. There is something about the way maggots seem to enjoy themselves that really adds to the afront.